Santa Monica Teenager Rousey Closer to Olympic Judo Berth

Judo ranks somewhere between luge and synchronized swimming in the American sports scene. It took just 80 seconds in Puerto Rico this weekend to show how Ronda Rousey might be slamming judo into the U.S. sports consciousness this summer. Eighty seconds was the time it took Rousey in all her matches combined, to win the junior Panamerican championships this past Saturday.

Rousey's first match ended in a few seconds when Ronda grabbed her Mexican opponent and threw the woman flat on to her back for an ippon (the judo equivalent of a knock-out). The second match was nearly identical, lasting only ten seconds. In the final round, against a Brazilian, Ronda knocked her opponent down, and defeated her with a joint-lock (applying pressure to the elbow), forcing the woman to submit. The Brazilian coach was amazed by her skill on the mat, and asked the American gold medalist if she had honed her skills training in ju jitsu. Said Ronda, "I laughed and told him that I had learned everything from my mom."
The blonde Santa Monica teenager is the number one junior (under 20), and the number one woman in the United States. In November, she became the youngest person ever (at age 16), to capture the number one spot in the women's 63 kg category (138.6 lbs). In April, Ronda travels to Isla de Margarita, Venezuela for the senior Panamerican championships. A medal in this event will qualify the U.S. for the summer Olympics. Based on her performance this weekend, the probability of that happening looks extremely high. It is universally agreed that Ronda is the American woman who has the best chance of a gold medal in judo. The United States has never had an Olympic gold medalist in women's judo, and only one gold medal in the world championships, won in 1984 by Dr. AnnMaria (Burns) Rousey. AnnMaria did not compete in the 1988 Olympics. She had recently married and had a baby; she named her Ronda.